Amid speculations over a possible change in the leadership of the Karnataka government, as MLAs loyal to deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar headed to New Delhi to meet the Congress top brass, chief minister Siddaramaiah dismissed all rumours and called them an “unnecessary debate”.
This comes after the Siddaramaiah-led government completed two and a half years in the state, and recent speculations emerged from an alleged deal between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar based on a “rotational chief minister formula”. The ‘agreement’ was cited in reports according to which both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar would hold the top post for two and a half years each, but it has not been confirmed by the party yet.
Siddaramaiah says his power is “secure”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Karnataka chief minister said that it is “an unnecessary debate”. He added, “Only after it was said that the cabinet can be reshuffled after two and a half years did the issue of changing the chief minister come to the fore. The party leaders need to take a decision on the cabinet reshuffle.”
During his visit to Chamarajanagar in the state, Siddaramaiah said that his power is “secure” and added that efforts were being made to fulfil the promises made to the people. “My power is secure now and in the future. Sincere efforts are being made to fulfil the promises made to the people…”
He also dismissed the reports of a “November revolution” and blamed the media for “creating” the term. The possible change in the leadership was labelled as the “November revolution” by some earlier.
“It is you (media) who coined the term. You cooked up this ‘revolution’. Hence, there is no ‘kranti’ (revolution) or ‘bhranti’ (confusion). We have been given a five-year tenure to rule. After five years, elections will take place and we will win once again,” he told reporters.
Congress MLA KN Rajanna, speaking to reporters after a closed-door meeting of senior Karnataka Congress leaders, said that a letter that he read from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) mentioned Siddaramaiah as the chief minister and Shivakumar as the deputy chief minister.
“We discussed strategies to bring Congress back to power in 2028… AICC letter clearly mentions Siddaramaiah as the CM and DK Shivakumar as DyCM.”
